Rediscovering my mojo with Elevation Barn in Bali
Annabel Heseltine reviews a transformational retreat in Ubud, where she discovers her superpower, how to use her oomph and her inner Buddha
Will said: ‘Choose an object which you think sums up where you are now.’
I look around the huge, round room at the heart of Jungle House with lofty ceilings, no walls, made from reclaimed teak, overlooking a luxurious Balinese jungle cliff sloping down to a majestic river far below. There are so many beautiful things to choose from; golden buddhas, singing bowls, a huge carved chess set, books and incongruously, as well, at the back of a shelf, a red and yellow plastic ‘ironman’. I reach for a cushion because its feels right; pointy at the corners, a bit mushy when you touch it, and turning it over, a hidden side which nobody sees.
It is that ‘not being seen’ which brought me here to the island of the Gods. When I heard about the Elevation Barn retreat in Ubud, Bali’s spiritual and creative centre, it was serendipity. I was looking for the next stage in my journey. I was climbing out of a hole; a recently divorced, fifty-something editor of an education magazine with a lot of oomph but going nowhere. Rashly, I had resigned from my job mid-Covid but now, with no title to hide behind, I had hit a brick wall. I was looking for my next chapter and I wanted it to count. So here I am on day one being amazed by what a whirring fan, a shiny pen, a book, a chess piece, binoculars and a flower can reveal about the five other people doing the retreat with me - Elevation Barn retreats take only six people - but then we are in the skilful hands of branding genius Will Travis.
“By living in my self-indulgent old story, I wasn’t allowing the space to create a new one. And the new story was sitting in front of me, reflected back at me in the eyes and words of my newfound tribe of elevators”
EB founder Will walked away from the invitation to be global leader of Saatchi & Saatchi to fulfil his ambition to elevate the world by inspiring individuals to invest in and be the very best of themselves. Using his own branding techniques honed over 30 years as a global CEO and inspired by top schools MIT, Harvard, along with some simple tools; a pack of cards, an iconic object, chalks and crayons, meditation and nature, there’s even a bit of Desmond Tutu in the mix, Will work-shopped us through a series of exercises to strip away self-delusion and own our true aspirations.
I’m on Travis’ 65th retreat. He’s been running them for five years in five countries with clients including, randomly, CEOs, billionaires, a Montana bull fighter, marine biologists, bitcoin investors, inventors, writers, artists, domestic dads, athletes and visionaries from 46 countries. It’s exceptionally well mapped out. Unlike most other retreats, it doesn’t stop when you leave. Keen to ensure that his new ‘elevators’ aren’t left to drift aimlessly in an anonymous world, Travis demands accountability with fortnightly zoom meetings; offering in return, entry into a talented and wise global group of ‘elevator’ alumni keen to share ideas, events and connections to help each other be the best of themselves. But first, in order to advance, we have to retreat.
Gently, but uncompromisingly, Travis and Rajiv, the ex-New Yorker doctor who leads the Balinese retreats, peel back those layers we create to hide behind, to enable us to recognise and realise our North Star ambitions. In typical global brand-building style, the four-day retreat starts by celebrating who we are. Very soon, lots of coloured sticky notes on sheets of white A2 paper are reflecting our lives back at us, not just what and who we are but also our beliefs and priorities. Then they dig a little deeper to help us identify our ambitions.
Day two is about identifying our superpower. I share mine which is empathy with Leona, a diminutive dynamo of a TV journalist and UN advisor on sustainability who is trying to balance her career with being a good Taiwanese mother. Everybody has a story. After a break to meditate amongst carp-filled ponds and permaculture gardens, I catch sight of Summer gazing at the mountain. The dynamic 27-year-old New Yorker walked away from her job as VP of a tech-start-up to travel the world and find her true purpose. Half-Japanese, Indonesian Ryu is feeling the grass between his toes. He founded a breakthrough payment gateway for the Indonesian market, then sold it for millions to run the family company but in the eight minute-a-side, ‘listen and tell’ exercise reveals his main concern is how to create a happy life for his wife and family. Sim from India is a crypto-genius, visionary and party animal juggling multiple companies who arrived like the wind on the back of a motorbike but wants to slow down.
It’s crazy to think that barely three days before they had been strangers and I had been nervously hiding in the lofty bedroom of a zen-like boutique hotel with a healing infinity pool, knowing that I had to go downstairs to step-up.
It was hard work, sometimes painful and occasionally daunting but the carefully orchestrated, handheld four days creates its own alchemy. Living and eating together there are so many opportunities to chat as we climbed up waterfalls and down steep jungle valleys, wilted coolly under muslin mosquito nets, ate langoustines, vegetarian curries and salads of avocado and freshly caught prawns, sipped tom yuan soup, and enjoyed watermelon and mango sorbets - all the time growing to understand and support each other better.
On day three, and borrowing from Desmond Tutu’s wise words, Will shows us how to Eat the Elephant one bite at a time so that we don’t feel overwhelmed. By day four, I had written so many sticky notes, penned letters, crayoned drawings, and felt deeply frustrated and so uplifted. I had laughed and cried but I had also found the confidence to stand up and do a five-minute speech without notes.
And then swapping my river shoes for a pair of flip-flops, I got it. By living in my self-indulgent old story, I wasn’t allowing the space to create a new one. And the new story was sitting in front of me, reflected back at me in the eyes and words of my newfound tribe of elevators; bright, smart, sassy, ambitious, global, kind, supportive and yes, elevating. Leona offered me and Sim meditation accountability. Summer is helping me with my new website.
A few weeks later, I was back in a wet and blowy England, but although Bali seemed so far away, EB stayed with me; in my WhatsApp group and in my confidence. On the last day, Will asked us again to search out an object which resonated most with us. This time I did not hesitate. I went straight to the golden Buddha in the centre of the room. This is me now, because when I am most closely aligned with my inner goddess I am at my most effective, I said. I knew it wouldn’t all be straightforward but with the tools, this new-found confidence and the support of my new Elevation Barn group as well as other ‘elevators’ around the world, I felt much closer to fulfilling my North Star ambitions.
